July 5 | Disciples Take Up Their Cross

Series | The Life of Discipleship

Scripture | Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

Lesson 5 | Disciples Take Up Their Cross

The second criterion Jesus gave to be His disciple was to “take up their cross.”  The cross was a form of torture and execution in the Roman world.  Jesus was clearly letting His disciples know that they had to be willing to suffer persecution if they wanted to follow Him, Matt. 5:11, Mark 13:9-11, & Luke 10:3.

Some teachers have tried to promote the idea that carry one’s cross means to “die daily to sin.”  However, though this may be an acceptable interpretation to some, it is neither true to the text or the whole of Scripture.  Jesus never taught that the act of continual sinning would be normative in the believer’s life.  Jesus clearly taught in John 8:36 in regards to sin, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Also, Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 15:31, “I die daily” is directly related to the persecution he faced everyday preaching the Gospel.  If someone wants to consider “carry their cross” as a reference to sanctification it should not be looked at as a “daily dying,” but rather a “once and for all spiritual death” that happened the moment they accepted Jesus.

Paul taught that the disciple’s “old sinful self” was (past tense) crucified with Christ when they received salvation.  As a result, Paul believed that disciples no longer had an inner sinful nature because it was once and for all put to death with Jesus’ sacrifice, 2 Cor. 5:17.  Paul made this distinction clear in Galatians 5:24, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

In turn, being willing to suffer is the real criterion all future disciples must consider and agree to if they want to truly follow Jesus.  We all know that eventually the Romans crucified Jesus.  But most don't know how the rest of the disciples died. 

Here is just a brief overview of how eight of the disciples died; (1) Peter was crucified upside down, (2) James was beaten to death, (3) Thomas was speared and burned alive, (3) Philip was crucified, (4) Matthew was beheaded, (5) Nathaniel was crucified, (6) Simon was crucified, (7) Thaddeus was beaten to death, & (8) Andrew was hanged.

Christians shouldn’t walk around depressed or with a death wish, however, as Jesus clearly stated we must be willing to lay down our lives if we truly want to be one of His disciples.  Over 100,000 Christians around the world die each year for their faith in Jesus (mostly in Muslim and Communist countries)- may we never forget the reality of Jesus’ words.   

     
Reflection | Are you willing to carry your cross and suffer persecution for the sake of Christ?

Action | (1) Repent of any false beliefs you might have held about “carrying your cross.” (2) Ask Jesus for boldness to not only believe in Him, but also to suffer for His name, Philippians 1:29. (3) Lastly, if you suffer persecution, (a) forgive your enemies, (b) remain faithful, and (c) be encouraged to know that you’re not alone, Matthew 28:20 & Hebrews 13:5.

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 1 Chronicles 1:1-2:17, Acts 23:11-35, Psalm 3:1-8, & Proverbs 18:14-15. Click here to read online. 

July 4 | Disciples Deny Themselves

Series | The Life of Discipleship

Scripture | Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.’”

Lesson 4 | Disciples Deny Themselves

After calling people to come and follow Him Jesus in the above verse gives the basic criteria of being His disciple.  The word disciple was not just a term that Jesus used to describe His followers, but rather it was a popular term in Jesus’ day to describe any kind of student studying under a teacher.

The word disciple, “mathetes” in Greek, simply means, “a student or pupil of a teacher.”  Just like in modern times when a person joins a mentoring program for their job, a college class, or a martial arts dojo the student is first asked to agree to the requirements of the course given by the teacher, the same was true with Jesus and His followers.

Jesus’ three main criteria of being one of His students was; (1) to deny one’s self, (2) take up one’s own cross, and lastly, (3) follow Jesus in all His ways.  If a person could agree to these requirements Jesus would then consider them one of His students or disciples.

The first criterion Jesus gives is to “deny one’s self.”  To deny yourself means to no longer rely upon your own abilities and human effort to guide and save your life.  This was Jesus’ way of teaching His students to no longer depend on their mental intellect, good works, or even religious beliefs for salvation and daily guidance but to rather trust in God.  A popular way of saying this today would be, “let go and let God.”

Ofcourse, Jesus didn’t want His students to “turn off their brain” and lay helpless on the floor because they denied their own ability to even sit, stand, or walk and were to wait for God to move them like a puppet.  However, Jesus was referring to the principle He had taught in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Therefore, the first step to being a disciple of Jesus is to honestly realize your spiritual poverty and put your faith in Jesus for the true riches of heaven.  In other words, “I deny my efforts to save myself, but I believe Jesus can fully save me.”

   
Reflection | Have you denied yourself to be a disciple of Jesus?

Action | (1) Think of 2-3 ways you have tried to save or guide your own life. (2) Ask God to help you deny your impulses to guide your life. (3) Lastly, trust Jesus to save and guide you everyday!

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 2 Kings 23:31-25:30, Acts 22:17-23:10, Psalm 2:1-12, & Proverbs 18:13. Click here to read online. 

July 3 | Disciples Forsake All

Series | The Life of Discipleship

Scripture | Matthew 4:20, “At once they left their nets and followed him.”

Lesson 3 | Disciples Forsake All

Imagine if your whole life revolved around being a fisherman.  Consider if everything you did everyday was focused on one thing- catching fish.  You would wake up early each day to get your nets ready, work on the boat, get bait, and head out on the water.  Now imagine if Jesus said to you, “Drop everything you’re doing and come follow me- I’m going to make you a fisher of men!”

What do you think would be your first response?  Maybe you would say, “I’m sorry, I can’t leave now- my family depends on my fishing.”  Or, “I’ll come after I check with my father because fishing is our family business and he needs me.”  Now consider what you do for a living.  Could you imagine leaving your job in the middle of the day to follow Jesus?

The first disciples- Peter, Andrew, James, and John were willing to leave everything behind to follow Jesus.  The verse above says they didn’t even hesitate, but rather, “at once they left their nets and followed Him.”  When Jesus, God in the flesh, walked the earth He deserved totally commitment and abandonment of everything else.

Today in modern times Jesus is no longer walking the earth so we don’t have to literally stop working just to be close to Him.  However, at the same time, Jesus is still asking His disciples to do whatever it takes to follow Him 100%.  For some people they may have to forsake certain friends, others might have to give up distracting hobbies, and some might even have to change jobs.

No matter what it is- if Jesus asks you to leave it to follow Him do it because He is worth it.  Leaving things behind may not be easy, but with Jesus all things are possible, Matthew 19:26! 

Make a decision today to do whatever it takes to be a disciple of Jesus, even if you have to leave things behind!

Reflection | Are you willing to forsake everything to be a disciple of Christ?

Action | (1) Pray and ask God to show anything that may be getting in the way of you following Him. (2) Lastly, leave your past behind and choose to follow Jesus all the way today- don’t hesitate!  

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 2 Kings 22:3-23:30, Acts 21:37-22:16, Psalm 1:1-6, & Proverbs 18:11-12. Click here to read online. 

July 2 | Disciples Are Fishers of Men

Series | The Life of Discipleship

Scripture | Matthew 4:19, “Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people.”

Lesson 2 | Disciples Are Fishers of Men

Matthew records that the first four disciples of Jesus were fisherman.  Jesus saw them when He was teaching by the Sea of Galilee.  He called His first set of brothers, Peter and Andrew, and said the words recorded above.  He then immediately called the next set of brothers, James and John, and most likely repeated what He said or they overheard His previous call.

When Jesus called these four fishermen to be His disciples He was making a direct comparison to their lifestyle of fishing to what He was going to do with them.  Both sets of brothers were probably trained from a small child by their fathers to be successful fisherman by being able to read the weather patterns, cast a net, safely be in a boat, know the right seasons to catch each kind of fish, how to clean fish, and bring them to market.

Jesus understood this same principle of mentorship because he was probably raised by Joseph to be a carpenter in the same way, Matthew 13:55.  Plus, during Jesus’ early years he most likely went by the sea and saw people fishing all the time.  And would’ve seen fishermen at the markets and might have even gone fishing with His friends on occasion.

As a result, when Jesus wanted to pick His first disciples He purposely chose hard working fishermen that would understand the value of mentorship- for their very lives depended on it.  Thus, I believe He chose them because He knew they would be zealous to teach others all that He was going to teach them.

Now imagine what most “Christians” would say if their pastor would tell them this Sunday, “Everything I teach you here today, I expect you to go out and teach others.”  I believe many “Christians” would say, “But I’m not ‘called’ to do that, that’s the pastor’s job!”  How sad!  Most churches today have forgotten the lesson Jesus taught His first disciples- “what I do ‘to’ you, must go ‘through” you!’

Decide today, that you will be a disciple like the first disciples in the Bible- trained fishers of men!

Reflection | Do you fish for people?

Action | (1) Think about what would be your response if Jesus asked you to fish for men. (2) Make a decision and pray for God to make you a fisher of men.  (3) Lastly, everything God does “to” you let Him do it “through” you to others.

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 2 Kings 20:1-22:2, Acts 21:18-36, Psalm 150:1-6, & Proverbs 18:9-10. Click here to read online. 

July 1 | Disciples Are Born Again

Series | The Life of Discipleship

Scripture | 1 Peter 1:23, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

Lesson 1 | Disciples Are Born Again

Peter, a disciple of Christ himself, in the above passage is reminding the disciples under his care that they have been born again by the Word of God.  It is always important to remember that the most important aspect of being a disciple is being born again.

“Born again” simply means that you have been given a new spiritual life from God.  The Bible clearly teaches that without being born again spiritually you cannot see the Kingdom of God, John 3:3.  In turn, if someone is not born again they must put their full trust in the full person of Jesus and receive eternal life, John 3:16.

The passage above makes reference to the Word of God’s role in the process of being born again.  Peter writes that the Word of God acts as a seed that gives new life and it does not perish; it is living, and enduring.  Likewise, Paul wrote in Romans 10:17, “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”

As a result, when a lost person hears the Word of God it is like a seed being placed in their heart.  However, like Jesus said in the “Parable of the Sower” in Luke 8:4-15 that if the seed falls on the road side (an unbelieving heart) the Devil comes and takes it away like a bird.  If the seed falls on the rocky soil (a weak faith) the sun (persecution) will come and burn its little plant all up.  If the seed falls among thorns (a sinful heart) it will be choked out by the weeds.  However, if the Word of God comes to a heart with pure faith (good soil) it will grow and produce good fruit.

The Word of God is always the same and nothing can change its power.  However, it is the faith of man, in his heart, that determines how the seed will grow in one’s own life.  Therefore, have faith in God’s Word to be born again and remain in faith to have the Word of God continue to produce good fruit in your life.         

Reflection | Do you have a fruitful new life in Christ?

Action | (1) If you are not born again, place your faith in Jesus and be born again today. (2) Allow the Word of God to grow deep roots in your life and produce good fruit.  (3) Lastly, remain in good faith- let nothing take away the Word of God from your life.  

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | 2 Kings 18:13-19:37, Acts 21:1-17, Psalm 149:1-9, & Proverbs 18:8. Click here to read online.